Last



w; H. NUTT LAST original File@ sept. 12, 1955 ll il" l lllllilllllllln :ll\\ ninlkvlllilei.vlan! Patented Oct. 4, 1938 UNITED `STATES PATENT oFFics e LAST William` H. Nutt, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe MachinerycCorporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Y original application september 12, 1935, serial Divided and this application January 21, 1937, Serial No. 121,625

4 Claims. (o1. 1'2-139) improved last, with drilling and countersinking a passage in the cone of a last within a shoe to i by which both are held in their true paths.

be heeled, and when thus operating, to drill an opening through the heel-seat of the shoe into a heel clamped thereon, countersink the insolematerial about the drilled opening, insert a screw in the last-passagaand finally set the screw in V place with a screw-driver to draw the heel-seat and the cup of the heel together. An adhesive is customarily applied between the attaching surfaces. Difliculties are encountered in such a procedure. The last-passage must be of suflicient diameter to admit the head of the screw.` Because of the size of the passage and the consequent tendency of the drill and the point of the screw to enterthe work out of correct axial alignment, it is desirable to have some centering means An object of my inventionis to insure the correct positioning of the tools and of the fastening for insertion. To this end, I employ alast adapted to enter a shoe and position the work forl the operations upon it, said last having a passage opening through the heel-seat-surface. The lastpassage contains a fastening-centering device, preferably provided with yieldable arms extending into proximity to the opening and arranged to be engaged by and to locate axially of the passage rotatable operating means, such as a drill and countersink by which the heel-seat and heel are prepared to receive a screw-fastening and a screw-driver by which said fastening is inserted in the work, and to similarly locate the fastening itself. The centering device is shown as mounted in the last-passage and held against displacement by a last-thimble, as through one or more projections from the centering device, these projections either entering depressions in the last-thimble or extending between the end of said thimble and a sleeve threaded into the opposite extremity of the passage.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a par-V ticular form of the invention, together with a modication thereof. In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a central, vertical section through my tools partially inserted in the last-passage;

Fig.,2, a perspective View of a centering device or quill used in the last of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a broken perspective of the sleeve for l securing the quill in the last-passage;

Fig. 4, a View similar to Fig. 1 but showing screw-inserting mechanism associated with the last;

Fig. 5, a central, vertical, longitudinal section through the heel-end of a last provided with a quill differing from that of the preceding gures; Fig. 6, a perspective view of the quill of Fig. 5, and

Fig. '7, a similar View of the last-thimble by which the quill is retained in place.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, a last I4 has extending vertically through its cone a passage which at its upper portion may be protected by a thimble 36. Threaded into the lower portion of the passage is a sleeve 32 (Fig. 3) of greater internal diameter than the thimble.v Held between the adjacent extremities ofthe thimble and the sleeve are outward projections 34 from a tubular body 36 of a centering device for a screw or other fastening.` As is best shown in Fig. 2, this device is in the form of a spring-quill, there being resilient arms 38, which may be three in number, depending from thebody 36 in proximity to the heel- Vseat-opening of the last-passage. When the arms are forced outwardly against the inside of the sleeve 32, the internal diameter of the passage between them is preferably substantially the same as that of the thimble 39.- Another form of mounting for the quill appears in Figs. to 7. Here, a thimble 4i) lines the 'entire last-passage and has in its wall openings or depressions 42.

The quill has an extended body 44, a flange 46 diameter similar to that of the body 44, curvedends 52 of the arms then lying in a lower enlargement 54 of the thimble. In either form ofthe device, the lower ends of the arms converge down-Y wardly and inwardly to normally approach relatively close to each other and, as illustrated in Fig. 4, so contact with the thread of a screw s that the point will be positioned substantially at the axis of the last-passage. The head of the screw enters the bore of the thimble of Fig. 4 and the body of the quill of Fig. 5 to move freely therethrough, yet with little lateral play. Therefore, when the screw is dropped into the lastpassage, it will be so retained by the quill-arms that its axis and that of the passage practically coincide. Both the projections 34 and 48 retain their respective quills 36 and 44 against displacement in the last-passage.

When a shoe S and a heel H are clamped between unillustrated supports for the tread-surface and the last l, the heel-seat and heel are iirst to be drilled to the proper depth to facilitate the insertion of a screw s and the heel-seat-material countersunk to receive the screw-head. This may be accomplished by the elements illustrated in Fig. l. These consist of a drill 66, of the proper diameter to produce a hole in the work to receive the screw, and an outer concentric sleeve or tube l5, the lower inclined end of which has cutting edges 75S furnishing 4a countersink;- The drill andrcountersink-tube are so arranged that the former is rst rotatable to produce the opening for the attaching screw. Then, the rotation ofthe drill is communicated to the tube, which is driven to countersink the opening for the reception of the screw-head. The operator introduces the tools 65 and l@ into the thimble 36 of the last lil upon which the shoe S and heel' H are clamped together. The countersink, having no initial driving forcel applied, upon contact with the arms 38 of the quill is held by these against rotation and presses them back against the inner wall of the sleeve As the force applied to the quill-arms is therefore only longitudinally thereof, without the rapid rotary eiect which would be imparted by a'driven tool, the quill is but little affected and will require only infrequent renewal. Were the rotary contact permitted, the quill-arms would be subjected to much wear, and, if they were caught at the edges by the tool, might be torn off. The descent of the tools will be stopped by the contact of the countersink with the insole of the shoe. When this is felt by the operator, he causes the drill to move through the countersink, which serves to center and guide it axially of the last-passage. The drill will therefore enter the insole substantially at right-angles to its surface. The drill bores into the heel-seat-material and heel to the desired depth for the screw. At this time, the countersink will be driven and will produce a depression in the heel-seat-rnaterial in which the head of the screw may lie, the drilling of the opening being simultaneously completed. The

rotation of the countersink-tube in contact with the quill may be very brief.

Having prepared the shoe and heel as just described, the operator drops the screw s point down into the last-passage (Fig. 4). Here, its head will engage the wall of the thimble 30 with its lower threaded portion resting upon the quillarms 38, it thus being axially alined with the passage and with the drilled opening in the work. The point therefore cannot catch in the insolematerial, and the slot in the screw-head will be properly positioned to receive a screw-driver which is to insert it. The spindle H6 of this screw-driver is surrounded by a sleeve l24 having the same external diameter as and rotatable upon the spindle, it leaving only the bit of the screw-driver projecting. The sleeve l2!! acts during the insertion of the screw-driver as did the countersink-sleeve "E6, so that it is held against rotation by engagement with the quill-arms 38,

pressing these back without appreciable wear or distortion when the screW-driver-bit enters the slot in the screw and inserts it in they hole drilled in the heel. A like protection is afforded the quill upon the withdrawal of the screw-driver.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent oi the United States is:

l. In combination, a last having a passage Aopening through the heel-seat-surface, and a fastening-centering device secured in the passage at the heel-seat-end and constructed and arn ranged to position substantially at the axis of the passage and at the heel-seat-surface the entering point oi a fastening, the device being provided with a projection to retain it against displacement in theV passage.

2. In combination, a last having a passage opening through the heel-seat-surface, a thimble situated in the passage and having a depression in its wall, and a centering device within the thimble and provided with a projection entering the depression.

3. In combination, a last having a passage opening through the -heel-seat-surface, and a centering device situated in the passage and provided with a lateral projection holding it against longitudinal displacement and with spring-arms converging toward the heel-seat-surface.

4. In combination, a last having a passage opening through the heel-seat-surface, a thimble situated in the passage at one extremity, a sleeve having threaded engagement with the passagewall at the opposite extremity of the passage, and a centering device provided with a retaining portion clampedbetween the thimble and the sleeve.

WILLIAM H. NUTT. 

